THE Liberal Democrats will next week ask the National Assembly to reaffirm its outright opposition to GM crops.

A motion for debate next Wednesday would seek to direct the Labour Assembly Government to ensure the GM fodder seed ChardonLL is not added to the national seed list.

The UK Government is sympathetic to GM technology despite the opposition of most people in Britain.

Under existing legislation all the devolved administrations have to agree to the listing, and following a vote in the Scottish Parliament earlier this week the role of the Wales National Assembly has become even more pivotal.

In the Scottish Parliament, an SNP proposal to veto the listing of ChardonLL was defeated by just one vote. As the Northern Ireland Assembly remains suspended, the decision over ChardonLL effectively rests with Wales.

Carwyn Jones, the Assembly's Minister for Environment, Planning and the Countryside, has denied being bullied by the UK Government to fall into line and has reiterated the Assembly's opposition to GM.

Some opponents, however, have sensed a weakening in his position because of his mention of separation distances between GM and other crops as a possible resolution to the issue.

They argue that separation would not work within the UK and that contamination of organic and conventional crops would be inevitable if such a policy was adopted.

Last night Julian Rosser, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said, "If the Liberal Democrat motion is passed next week, it would make it very difficult for Carwyn Jones to go along with the proposal to add ChardonLL to the national seed list without a further resolution from the Assembly."

Dr Mike Stagman, an American anti-GM campaigner currently living in Wales, said, "The Welsh Assembly must stand firm and not go along with Tony Blair's GM mania.

"There are serious concerns about ChardonLL. Last month two eminent scientists wrote to UK Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett suggesting it was unstable and therefore unlawful under the current EU Directive relating to GM organisms."